Below The Beltway

As the 50th anniversary of the publication of Atlas Shrugged, Robert Stacey McCain of the Washington Times notes that the book itself has had far more influence on modern libertarians and conservatives than many wish to admit at this point:

The novel is almost universally cited as an influence among leading free-market advocates, said Brian Doherty, author of “Radicals for Capitalism: A History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement.”

“Pretty much everyone who got active from the 1950s on has had an encounter with, and galvanizing by, Rand at the root of whatever they’ve gone on to accomplish in spreading ideas about free markets and free minds in academia or politics,” said Mr. Doherty, a senior editor at Reason magazine.

Yet the influence of “Atlas Shrugged” has not been fully acknowledged, Mr. Doherty said, in part because Rand and her novel “have been the object of so much hostility and mockery from the ‘proper’ thinkers of the world that it takes a Howard Roarkesque level of self-assurance” — a reference to the architect who is the hero of “The Fountainhead,” Rand’s first novel — “to talk about affection for, and inspiration from, Rand publicly.”

He adds that Rand’s “famed hostility to what she considered any nonrationally chosen value, such as religion and fealty to the family, means that conservatives who share her commitment to economic and personal liberty also tend to avoid talking about her positively.”

Still, Rand’s philosophy has many well-known admirers, including former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who was a personal friend of the Russian-born author before her death in 1982. Mr. Greenspan contributed an essay to Rand’s 1966 collection, “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.”

Another prominent admirer, Mr. Hudgins said, is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas who “used to have his interns read ‘The Fountainhead.’ ” Her influence extends to the halls of Congress, where Rand’s admirers include Rep. Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, and Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce, California Republicans.

“Part of the reason why Rand has been so influential is that she presented her ideas in a novel,” Mr. Hudgins said. “It’s one thing to read a dry philosophical treatise. It’s another thing to read an exciting story where those ideas are told through characters and action.”

In a sense, that is probably Rand’s greatest contribution to the fight for individual liberty. She helped to popularize ideas that have been around for centuries in a way that nobody before or since has really been able to do, and she gave those of us who believe in freedom the justification for doing so not just because it works, but because it’s right.